nina88

Just started working on our China trip (1st time) to Beijing, Xian, Yangshou, Shanghai after originally planning to take a tour group (supposedly the 1st time as we have been travelling independently). The trip will be in late Oct.-early Nov., 2013. Since this will be a short (14 days) and tight IT, we're a bit concerned about topic title. Will appreciate any feedback you can share as far as your experience and how you dealt with same. Most of our hotel reservations were placed with booking.com; domestic flights (3) will be with Ctrip. Re most current info (ex. transportation/subway, opening/closing to sites), where to best check? I have checked most current travel guides available but aware that those are not really that current. Is there any reliable sites I can check other than China Highlight, China Travel Guide? Thank you... I know I will not regret doing this independently no matter what the outcome will be.

nygvic0326

Look at Trip Advisor. Also check library for guide books on China (that's where I found some great info). Many websites. Google is your friend.

Kathie

I've never had a problem with overbooking on any of the hotel websites. Your flights, booked through Ctrip are on Chinese airlines. No one here has complained of problems with Ctrip. If the airline cancels a flight, they need to re-book you.

For questions on opening/closing times, I'd use the most current guidebook for general planning, as my experience is that Chinese websites are not necessarily up-to-date (especially those of Chinese tour operators like you listed above). Once you get there, use your hotel's concierge desk for such questions. As above, it never hurts to google, but be aware that there are seasonal opening/closing times, so what you find may not apply when you are there.

JPDeM

This website has the opening times and entry fees for all attractions in Beijing: http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/Travel/Sightseeing/index.htm

rhkkmk

I don't think you will have an issue..

check for latest times and info on each site's internet site.

temppeternh

You always could arrive in China with nothing booked at all, retain travel flexibility, and pay less for both transport and hotels as a result. There's rarely any advantage gained by booking so far ahead, and certainly no need at the time of year you're travelling. The best rates for foreign-run hotels are almost always found on their own websites (and most guarantee this), and the best rates for Chinese-run hotels are obtained by bargaining at the counter. Since no booking site (even Chinese ones) has more than a limited number of these there's more choice, too. For Chinese hotels sites such as Ctrip only tell you rates you'll be able to equal or beat yourself, and the images and descriptions of the properties should not be taken at face value (Ctrip disclaims responsibility and blames mendacity on the hotels).

Some setbacks are to be expected and micro-planning your travel before you even arrive will significantly increase the chances of these occurring, as well as the risk of a domino effect from each setback on subsequent items on your tour.

In passing, China Highlights and China Travel Guide are not 'reliable' sites. China's various metro systems and tourist attractions usually have their own websites which can be found using the standard search engines. But their owners rarely keep them up to date either. That's just how things are.

nina88

Thank you all for sharing, giving feedback most especially temppeternh. Upon further research, I discovered that foreign-run hotels offer "early bird rate" + free cancellation so can have the best of both worlds. On the other hand, when I checked a hotel in Yangshou their website indicates a unavailability of a specific room but at booking.com there was one so I was able to get my choice of room. Numerous fodorites posted that they were able to get a better flights price if booking about a month before departure through Ctrip, etc.

temppeternh

> On the other hand, when I checked a hotel in Yangshou their website indicates a unavailability of a specific room but at booking.com there was one so I was able to get my choice of room.

But if a Chinese-run hotel very unlikely at anything like the rate you might have paid in person. If you *must* have a certain room in a certain Chinese-run hotel on a certain date of course booking is unavoidable. But it's typically far cheaper to be flexible.

You might by the way like to note it's 'YangshUO' (pronounced, roughly, 'shwor' not 'show')--the single most frequently misspelled destination in China (a place I must admit I would omit from any brief China tour).

> Numerous fodorites posted that they were able to get a better flights price if booking about a month before departure through Ctrip, etc.

Indeed this is the time at which discounts begin to appear through all agencies. Most tickets in China are bought last-minute and for steep discounts on the published prices which (as for hotels) almost no one ever pays. There can be bait-and-switch problems with Ctrip pricing, and there are intermittent problems with accepting foreign cards. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't: there's no guarantee that Ctrip (or eLong or the others on-line) has the best prices, and they are frequently undercut by agents in the city of departure.

It shouldn't be assumed that standard booking methods or booking policies or any of the other commonplaces of travel administration work the same way in China as they do elsewhere. Travel habits are different, agencies targeting foreigners are absolutely shameless in their rapacity, pricing policies are different, payment systems are different, and so on.

nina88

Thanks again for your valuable feedback temppeternh. I think we are willing to pay more for convenience as long as the difference is not exorbitant. I prefer to have hotel and flight reservations in advance and not to have to worry or be concerned with making sure I am getting the best bang out of my money. To set an example, the hotel that I reserved in Beijing has an excellent location, been highly recommended by numerous fodorites that if I am not able to get the room that I wanted in that particular hotel, I'll be disappointed. Re reserved room rate, if one finds a lower rate, booking can match it so I intend to check for the rate a few days before departure and request for the lower rate if that's the case. At the end of the day, most probably I'll be paying about $15-20 per day for convenience... very much worth it, IMO.

temppeternh

Some people simply don't feel comfortable without booking every detail of their trip in advance, and that's entirely up to them. But in fairness to other readers it should be said that while advance bookers want to convince themselves the price differences are small, the figure of $15-20 is really one that has been plucked out of the air. The savings can in fact easily amount to hundreds of dollars over a trip, or thousands for a family, depending of course upon the advance booking method chosen, the grade of hotel, etc.

nina88

Thank you for your opinion temppeternh... anybody else who can share his/her experience?

JPDeM

You can get amazing deals at the last minute but limited choice (flights). Often you are better off getting the early bird deal.
I never had issue payment via a foreign credit card with ctrip. travelzen or elong. Except that travelzen does have a surcharge for foreign credit cards.
Showing up at a hotel and bargaining a good deal is somewhat of a myth. It is pretty rare that the clerks at the counter have any power to give you a great deal. You will often manage rto pay less than the rack rate posted behind the counter but rarely less than booking online (via the hotel website or some online agent).

temppeternh

> Showing up at a hotel and bargaining a good deal is somewhat of a myth.

Only if myths are true. It is absolutely standard procedure at Chinese-run hotels. It's the way China works.

> It is pretty rare that the clerks at the counter have any power to give you a great deal.

Except at Chinese-run hotels that it is entirely standard for a discount to be offered before you even ask for it, and then to take it down some distance from there. Hotels expect it, and everyone does it; all the time.

> You will often manage rto pay less than the rack rate posted behind the counter but rarely less than booking online (via the hotel website or some online agent).

Where 'less' is 30% to 70% less than the rack rate, depending on circumstances.

Whether you find a 'good' price on-line rather depends on which site you're looking at. Ctrip apparently offers fantastic discounts, but these are just the ones you can find for yourself (and to that degree it's a good guide to what you really need to pay) but usually beat yourself, too, although not always by a large amount. Nevertheless, you're cutting out the middle man.

Insofar as it only has a limited range of hotel choices, pushes on its first pages those that give it a larger profit margin rather than those that might be best, and often offers descriptions up to which the hotels cannot live, Ctrip is not so good. Where payment is not made in advance, rooms are not always there when you arrive. The guy with cash in hand at the counter trumps the one with a booking for which he or she might not turn up, and hasn't done so yet.

Again, some people are simply not comfortable unless they book in advance, but not doing so means rooms can be inspected before payment is actually made so you know what you're really getting, and a much larger stock of hotels, including the brand new, cheaper, and better value for money, is available for consideration.

Each to his own method. But these are the facts.